Psych Midterm 2.1 Flashcards
1
Q
What is encoding?
A
The process of transforming sensory input (information) into a cognitive code that can be stored in memory.
When we encounter new information, our brain processes it and converts it into a format that can be stored for later use.
2
Q
What is a cognitive code?
A
A mental representation or symbolic form that our brain uses to organize and store information.
3
Q
What is storage in memory?
A
The maintenance of cognitive codes in memory over time.
Once information is encoded, it needs to be stored so that we can retrieve it later.
Over time, this stored information becomes part of your long-term memory.
4
Q
What is retrieval?
A
The process of recalling or recovering cognitive codes from memory.
When we need to remember something, our brain retrieves the relevant cognitive codes from our memory. (Specifically from our long-term).
5
Q
What is the free recall task?
A
Memory exercise where individuals are asked to retrieve information from their memory without any specific cues or prompts.
They’re presented with a list of items, and then are given time to study and encode them. Later, without any hints or cues, they’re asked to recall as many times as they can.
6
Q
What is the serial position effect?
A
A consistent pattern observed when people recall items from a list.
This pattern forms a U-shaped curve.
7
Q
What is the primacy effect?
A
The tendency for items at the beginning of the list to be better remembered than those in the middle.
When we encounter a list, we have more time and attention to encode and store the initial items.
8
Q
What is the recency effect?
A
The tendency for items at the end of the list to be better remembered than those in the middle.
Items at the end of the list are still fresh in our STM/working memory.
9
Q
What is sensory memory?
A
The initial stage where sensory information (such as what we see, hear, or feel) is briefly stored.
It serves as a buffer that holds sensory information for a very short time, allowing us to process it further.
10
Q
What is STM?
A
Where conscious processing occurs.
It’s responsible for holding and manipulating information.
11
Q
How long does something stay in our short-term memory?
A
It lasts for about 20-30 seconds, unless actively rehearsed.
12
Q
What is STM crucial for?
A
For responding, problem-solving, and making memories long-term.
13
Q
What is LTM?
A
Where our memories are stored for an indefinite period.
It has an unlimited storage capacity.
14
Q
While information can only flow from sensory memory to STM, both STM and LTM can communicate with each other. True or false?
A
True
15
Q
What does the type of coding in SM depend on?
A
The modality (sense) of the incoming information.
Sensory memory encodes information in a format specific to the modality it’s coming from.
Ex) Visual memory holds visual information (what we see) for a short time, like milliseconds, but auditory SM holds auditory information (what we hear) for a slightly longer time (a few seconds).
16
Q
What does encoding in sensory memory rely on?
A
Attention to the incoming stimuli.
If we pay attention to something, it has a better chance of being encoded.
17
Q
The SM has a high capacity: it can store a lot of information simultaneously for a long time. True or false.
A
False, it can only store it for around 0.5 to 4 seconds, depending on the modality.
18
Q
How can forgetting happen?
A
- Decay: Over time, the cognitive code representing the sensory input weakens and fades.
- Interference: If 2 cognitive codes (from different stimuli) interfere with each other, one may overwrite the other, leading to forgetting.
19
Q
What is working memory?
A
A temporary storage system that allows us to process and manipulate information actively.
It’s also know as short-term memory.
20
Q
What is phonological encoding?
A
Repeating information back to yourself.
Known as phonological rehearsal.
20
Q
What does working memory play a crucial role in?
A
In problem-solving, decision-making, and remembering while we’re engaged in various cognitive tasks.
It’s our mental workbench where we manipulate cognitive tools to process information.
21
Q
What is visual encoding?
A
Mentally manipulating visual images.
Ex) The layout of a room.
22
Q
What is spatial encoding?
A
Manipulating spatial relationships mentally.
Ex) Mentally rotating an object.
23
Q
What is the capacity of working memory?
A
It’s limited, around 5 to 9 items at a time.
24
Without active rehearsal, how long does WM last?
Around 30 seconds. Rehearsal helps maintain it longer.
25
What is long-term memory?
A permanent storage system for cognitive codes.
It holds our mental representations of information.
26
What is reconstruction in encoding?
When we remember something, we retrieve it from our LTM, which involves a process of reconstruction.
To recall a memory, we reconstruct the cognitive code associated with that information. This process involves bringing it from LTM to STM and then back to LTM.
27
What are the 3 types of LTM and what do they do?
1. Episodic Memory: Holds memories of specific life experiences and events as they occurred. Includes details of time, place, and emotional context.
2. Semantic Memory: Stores facts, concepts, and general knowledge. Ex) Knowing what a word means, recognizing faces, or understanding historical events.
3. Procedural Memory: Involves storage of skills, habits, and procedures. Ex) How to ride a bike, walk, tie shoelaces.
28
Memories stored in our LTM are permanent, but what changes their accessibility?
Their accessibility can change over time due to reconstruction.
29
What do we use when we want to retrieve information from our LTM?
We use retrieval cues, which help us access the relevant cognitive codes. If we use the cue to a specific memory, we may be unable to retrieve it.
30
What is the eSTST theory?
It says that attention is directed by working memory: that attention itself isn't limited, but working memory imposes limits on it.
31
Sensory information can only flow into STM, not out. True or false?
True.
32
For information to move from SM to STM, it must be attended to. True or false?
True, according to the eSTST theory.
33
According to eSTST theory, when our working memory is close to capacity, what does it do?
It prioritizes salient or meaningful stimuli.
34
What is attention essential for in memory?
For encoding information into our STM.
35
What do retrieval cues do?
They prompt memories stored in LTM to come back to STM.
They allow information to travel from LTM to STM, making it accessible when needed.
36
What is iconic memory?
It specifically deals with visual information.
It lasts for only around 0.5 seconds, and can hold a large amount of visual information.
37
What is echoic memory?
It focuses on auditory information.
It lasts for around 3-4 seconds, and can retain multiple auditory details. Ex) It allows you to string words people say into sentences.
38
How can we overcome working memory's limited capacity?
By using chunking, which is grouping individual items into larger, meaningful units.
39
What is our most common method of rehearsal?
Subvocal repetition: silently repeating information to ourselves.
40
What is the phonological loop?
A part of WM that's responsible for handling verbal and auditory information. It's like an inner voice that rehearses and maintains sounds, words, and sentences.
41
How does the phonological loop work?
Acoustic images from Wernike's area are passed down to the Broca's area for subvocal articulation, which will refresh that image and form the loop.
As you go over this information repeatedly, you're encoding it more and more.
42
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
It's where you create, manipulate, and visualize images. It deals specifically with visual and spatial information.
43
The imagined image in the visuo-spatial sketchpad is static. True or false?
False, it's not static. It's constantly changing.
44
When you're in a positive state of mind, your WM tends to function more effectively. Why?
When you feel good, your brain releases more dopamine, which helps regulate your attention, memory, and motivation.
45
What is maintenance rehearsal? Why is it often ineffective?
It's basic repitition. Ex) Repeating a list of items in your head.
It's often ineffective because it fades quickly.
46
What is elaborative rehearsal? Why is it more effective than maintenance rehearsal?
It involves integrating new information with existing knowledge.
It's more effective because by making connections, we can create rich, memorable associations.
47
What is the Levels of Processing Theory?
It suggests that the depth of processing (how thoroughly we engage with information) influences memory retention.
The more we process information, the better our chances of remembering it.
48
What kind of rehearsal is at the shallow and intermediate/deep processing levels?
Shallow processing: Maintenance rehearsal.
Intermediate/deep: Elaborative rehearsal.
49
What is deep processing?
It's when we process information based on meaning.
We think about its significance, relate it to our lives, and explore its implications.
50
What's the best way to learn something new?
To relate it to your own life experiences and create meaning with it. Then, the retrieval cues are built into your memories.
51
What is encoding specificity?
How we encode information, which significantly impacts our ability to retrieve it later.
The way we initially learn or encode something influences how well we can recall it later.
52
Does our emotional state at the time of encoding play a role in retrieval?
Yes.
53
When we say that LTM is context-dependent, what does that mean?
The context in which you learn something affects your ability to retrieve it.
Context includes environmental cues/settings and internal cues like your emotional state.
54
What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?
When a word is right there, but you can't retrieve it.
55
How can we help people get over the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?
Provide them with a better retrieval cue that gives them more of a push.
56
What should we do if we want to retrieve information effectively, according to the scuba-diving study?
Use cues that align with the original encoding context.
57
Our emotional state during memory encoding influences our memory retrieval. True or false?
True.
58
What are flashbulb memories?
Snapshots taken during intense emotional experiences. These memories are vivid in detail.
59
Just because a memory feels vivid doesn't mean it's entirely accurate. True or false?
True. You may remember details vividly, but they may not align with reality.
60
What is semantic memory?
It involves facts, concepts, and general knowledge about the world.
Ex) Knowing that zebras are animals.
They're explicit and declarative memories: they can be consciously recalled.
61
What is episodic memory?
It's all about personal experiences and specific events.
It's like your mental diary.
They're also explicit and declarative memories.
62
What is procedural memory?
The memory of how to perform certain actions and skills.
Ex) Riding a bike.
It's implicit and not consciously recalled.
They become automatic over time.
63
Semantic and episodic memory never interact. True or false?
False, they often interact.
64
Which systems work together to create our declarative memory (our conscious knowledge that we rely on)?
Episodic and semantic.
65
Which, out of explicit and implicit memory, require conscious effort and which operates unconsciously?
Explicit uses conscious effort and implicit operates unconsciously.
66
What are examples of implicit memories?
Procedural memories, like riding a bike and things learned through conditioning, like your muscle memory.
These influence our behaviour without us being fully aware of them doing so.
67
How do we form a procedural memory?
Through repetition.
68
Semantic and episodic memory systems are interconnected. True or false?
True.
When we learn something new (semantic), it often becomes associated with specific events or contexts (episodic). Or, when we recall an event (episodic), we often retrieve related factual knowledge (semantic).
If one is damaged, our ability to recall information will suffer.
69
When you get amnesia, you forget everything: your name, past, etc., except for what?
Your procedural memory.
You won't remember learning to ride a bike, but you will still be able to ride a bike.
70
Amnesia can prevent you from forming new memories, but you can still acquire new skills. True or false?
True.
71
What is retrograde amnesia?
A loss of memory for past events that occurred before the amnesia.
72
What is anterograde amnesia?
The inability to form new memories after the occurrence of amnesia.
They can't create new memories.
73
What is reconstructive remembering?
The process by which we recall memories from our LTM.
This retrieval involves reconstruction, which is influenced by our current knowledge and biases.
74
Why, when making decisions, do we aim to use as few mental resources as possible?
Because making decisions uses cognitive resources, and our brains have a limited capacity for processing information. We want to reserve our cognitive energy for more critical choices.
75
What is the dual process theory and what are its two parts?
It explains how we think and make decisions using 2 distinct thinking systems: type 1 and type 2.
76
What do we do when faced with a hard question?
We use type 2 to re-evaluate our initial response and come up with a more accurate answer.
76
What is inductive reasoning, or type 1 thinking?
It's fast and automatic thinking that produces quick but sometimes inaccurate results.
It operates implicitly, outside our conscious awareness, which helps us save cognitive resources for other tasks.
76
When do we use type 2 thinking?
It's ideal when there's an objectively correct solution. It's used to carefully evaluate the pros and cons.
It's slower, analytical, and suited for critical conditions.
77
What is deductive reasoning, or type 2 thinking?
It's more slow and deliberate thinking, which usually yields more accurate results.
We explicitly use it when needed, and it demands our attention and awareness. It uses up cognitive resources.
77
Why do biases and fallacies often arise from type 2 thinking?
Because we tend to overanalyze, misinterpret evidence, or fall victim to cognitive biases.
78
Why does the Gambler's Fallacy exist?
Because even when we're engaged in type 2 thinking, our brains are wired to seek patterns and find meaning in randomness. We want to make sense of the world, so we sometimes look for order where there isn't any.
78
What is the Gambler's Fallacy?
A cognitive bias that occurs when we mistakingly believe that previous events will influence the outcome of future events.
79
When should we use type 1 vs type 2?
Type 1: When making decisions that have an emotional impact: when trying to choose something that will satisfy us on a personal or subjective level.
Type 2: When making decisions that have an optimal or objectively correct outcome: when we need to consider facts, evidence, or logical reasoning.
80
Why is type 1 heuristic-based?
Because when using it, we're relying on mental shortcuts, past experiences, and emotions.
81
Why do we use type 1 thinking so often?
Because our brain wants to avoid mental paralysis, which is the feeling of being overwhelmed by too much analysis.
82
What is nudging?
Making the optimal solution easier to obtain and the suboptimal solution harder to reach.
By setting up your environment or choices strategically, you can nudge yourself toward better decisions.
83
What is an example of nudging?
Grocery stores placing fruits and veggies right where you walk in, and the junk food further away.
84
What are schemas?
Cognitive frameworks/mental models that help us organize and interpret information.
85
What is an example of a schema?
How a restaurant works. You walk in, wait to be seated, order, eat, pay, leave.
86
Where are schemas stored?
In our LTM.
87
Schemas can lead us to exclude relevant information, focusing only on things that confirm our existing beliefs and ideas. True or false?
True.
88
We possess a schema for every situation or object we've encountered. True or false?
True.
89
What causes our schemas to adapt and change?
Experiencing new things.
90
When do we use problem-solving in terms of schemas?
When our existing schema doesn't match the situation we are encountering.
Ex) Not having butter when you're making an omelet, so you use oil.
91
What are mental sets?
A cognitive tendency to rely on solutions that have worked in the past, even when they may not be the best fit for a new problem.
They can become obstacles when they prevent us from considering alternative approaches or thinking 'outside the box'.
92
How do we break free from mental sets?
You need to consciously recognize that you're stuck in old patterns and explore new approaches.
93
What is functional fixedness?
It's a cognitive bias that affects how we perceive and use objects.
When we become accustomed to using an item or tool in a specific way, our brains tend to associate it solely with that intended purpose.
94
How do we break free from functional fixedness?
Focus on unrelated details about the object, like the colour or texture.
95
What is linguistic determinism?
A hypothesis that suggests language shapes our thoughts and cognition.
It says that the language we use influences how we perceive and understand the world: that we can't think without language.
95
What is evidence against linguistic determinism?
Helen Keller couldn't hear or see but could think by forming mental images, engaging in abstract thought and navigating her environment without language.
Brain regions associated with language aren't activated when doing tasks that require the visuo-spatial sketchpad, like mentally rotating objects.
96
What does linguistic relativity say about language?
That it's not an absolute necessity for thinking, but it serves as a valuable tool.
97
How many basic emotions are there that every language recognizes?
6.
98
What is language?
An arbitrary system of communication.
It combines symbols (words) in rule-based ways to create meaning.
99
Symbols, in language, look like the object they're representing. True or false?
False. The word dog does not look like a dog.
100
Humans are hardwired to learn and use language: it happens automatically. Why?
Because we're a complex organism with complex ideas, emotions, and experiences, and we need a way to express those.
101
What are the 5 different language features?
Phonemes
Morphemes
Syntax's
Extralinguistic Information
Dialects
102
What are phonemes?
The fundamental units of sound in a specific language: the building blocks that distinguish one word from another.
They're the distinct sounds that we produce vocally.
Ex) The sound you make when you say the letter B is a phoneme.
103
Across all languages, how many phonemes are there? How many in English?
There are around 100 in all languages.
40-45 in English.
104
What are morphemes?
The smallest meaningful unit in a language.
They're what give words their specific meanings.
Ex) Dog is a morpheme that represents an animal.
105
What is syntax?
A set of rules that govern how morphemes are arranged in a sentence.
They're the grammar of a language.
106
While following syntax is helpful, it's not always essential for communication. Whats an example that makes this statement true?
Real-world verbal language is full of errors, yet we still understand it.
107
What is extralinguistic information?
Elements of communication that go beyond the literal words of a language.
They're essential for grasping the full meaning of a message: they enhance our understanding.
108
What are examples of extralinguistic information?
Gestures, emojis, voice tone, and facial expressions.
A sentence can have different meanings depending on the body language delivered with it.
109
What are dialects?
Variations within a language that occur among different groups of people.
Ex) Country English VS city English.
110
What pushes kids to learn and absorb language naturally?
The want to express their thoughts and emotions.
111
Kids struggle to pick up a second language. True or false?
False. They can do it effortlessly. Their brains can adapt quickly to new sounds, grammar, and vocabulary.
112
Why do adults struggle to learn a second language?
Our neural pathways become less flexible over time, which affects our ability to learn another language.
113
What is the critical period for language acquisition?
13 years old.
114
Does the critical language period apply to those who are bilingual too?
No, not as much. Their language-learning abilities persist beyond this critical period.
115
Wernicke's area is highly neuroplastic during childhood. True or false?
True. It grows efficiently, aiding language development.
116
Children who are feral or deaf and did not learn language before the critical period can learn what components of language, and which ones can they not?
They can learn individual morphemes and phonemes, but they struggle to combine them into sentences (to use syntax).
117
What is the primary mode of communication for many animals?
Posing or other systematic movements.
Their communication can range from basic to extremely complex.
118
Animals lack the vocal cords for generating the specific phonemes of human language. True or false?
True.
119
How does a lexigram work?
It involves using buttons to represent morphemes from a language, and can be used to train animals to 'speak', but they're just doing it for the reward, not for genuine communication.
120
How do you teach an animal to use a lexigram?
A strict reinforcement schedule and operant conditioning.
121
Animals can understand individual morphemes, but they struggle with syntax and context. True or false?
True.
122
How do Bohobo apes learn language?
Through observation, and they communicate because they want to; not just for rewards.
They grasp phonemes and morphemes but struggle with syntax.
123
How do parrots learn language?
They just mimic and don't understand meaning. They repeat sounds without understanding morphemes, phonemes, or syntax.
124
Our brains, just as they are naturally wired to learn spoken language, are also naturally wired to learn to read and write. True or false?
False. We're not wired to learn to read and write.
125
Once we've learned to read, it becomes automatic and doesn't demand ongoing attention. True or false?
True.
126
We can turn off our ability to read if we want to. True or false?
False, we can't turn it off.
127
What is phonetic decomposition?
Sounding out the individual phonemes to read the word.
128
When do we use phonetic decomposition?
When we're learning a new word.
After we've learned to read it, we won't use it unless we're encountering a new word.
129
What's whole word recognition?
Instead of reading each letter individually, you can recognize the entire word as a whole.
You can identify words based on their appearance?
129
How do we use whole word recognition?
We use it automatically. It takes over the vast majority of our reading.
